Treatment of War Injuries to the Extremities

Abstract

Background: Combat-related extremity injuries cause death and disability in military and civilian settings. An increase in amounts of extremity injury has been seen in recent wars due to explosions. The object of this study is to investigate paradigms in primary, definitive and reconstructive surgeries of the war injuries of extremities in connection with modern warzone characteristics. Methods: A PRISMA systematic review was performed. Articles published between October 2018 and February 2023 were extracted from PubMed using the following search string: “Extremity; Injuries; Treatment; Morbidity; Mortality; War; Battlefield; Warfare; Treatment; Management.” Results: The search returned 139 records, of which 74 articles were included in this literature review. Of these, 21 findings and 13 conclusions were drawn. Conclusion: The primary, definitive, and reconstructive care paradigms have changed multiple times in recent wars. Treating modern combat casualties requires professional and well-trained staff at multiple levels and further research to evolve with the characteristics of modern warfare.